www.swyp-unison.org.uk
UNISONnews South West Yorkshire Partnership Health Branch
inside
April 2017
South West Yorkshire Partnership Health
• AGM report 2017 Inspiring meeting • Barnsley May Day Festival of solidarity! • Get active in UNISON
Do you know about our £20 new member offer?
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Gift card
lthough we have over 2700 members we know there are a lot of people out there not yet in a union who really need to be. The Branch is currently running a promotion by which any member who recruits a new member to this branch of UNISON will get a £10 gift card usable at hundreds of stores, and the new member gets a £10 gift card to welcome them to the union too. That’s £20 between you! If you have three or four colleagues not yet in the union you can sign them up and get the £10 per person each time. The only restrictions are that you must be a branch member, the new member must be eligible to join this branch (rather than for example a Council branch) and they must join through an application form sent to the Branch rather than online. Application forms are available from the Branch Office. Just write ‘recruited by’ with your full name and contact details on the new member’s application form to qualify.
• Huddersfield March for the NHS The fight to save HRI continues with a march on Saturday 29th April
• Doncaster Races 5th August 2017 • Branch contacts See back page for all the details
Why is what’s happening to the NHS in Barnsley nationally important?
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here are two big developments that will hit Mount Vernon Hospital first but could end up affecting the whole NHS. First of all an ‘Alliance Contract’ has been formed bringing together South West Yorkshire Partnership FT (SWYPFT), Barnsley Hospitals FT (BHNFT) and the Barnsley Healthcare Confederation (GP Federation) to deliver ‘Intermediate Care’ – care for people who don’t need an acute hospital bed but who require more input than normal community services can provide. These services are currently provided by the two inpatient wards at Mount Vernon and the Hospital at Home and Rapid Response teams based there. The idea of the Alliance Contract is that the current providers get together to provide an integrated service rather than the whole service being put out to tender by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) The new service model (which it is hoped will be put in place from July ) will have 16% less money for the service and rely heavily on beds in nursing and care homes. The NHS provided in-patient service will drop from two wards to one. Although nothing is finally agreed yet this ward is most likely to be provided at Barnsley
Hospital, meaning Mount Vernon will almost certainly shut this year, with the teams based there moving to health centres, etc., across the borough. There is also a suggestion that people currently working on the two wards at Mount Vernon and the support staff service of the hospital might transfer employer from SWYPFT to BHNFT or even (for support staff) to private contractors. UNISON is concerned at how with a growing elderly population Barnsley CCG think spending 16% less will help bring a better service to the people of Barnsley, and will do all we can to make sure members’ jobs and their position as NHS employees are protected. At the same time the CCG, Barnsley Council, BHNFT, SWYPFT and the GP Federation are forming an ‘Accountable Care Organisation’ (ACO). Barnsley and the other four CCG areas in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw make up about half of the ‘early adopters’ of these new arrangements nationwide. ACOs will eventually be widespread in the NHS and will oversee community
and mental health services, intermediate care and some other non-specialist in-patient care. The majority of partner organisations in the Barnsley ACO have recently taken the unusual step of asking the GP Federation to host the ACO. Although hosting does not mean employing everyone UNISON is concerned that it is a leading role and that proposals to transfer staff to the host may follow. It is important to note the GP Federation is not an NHS body for employment and contract purposes, meaning it is unclear how it could carry out all the functions of an ACO. UNISON will be following ACO developments closely, but we are concerned that in the long run the community health services our members currently provide could be squeezed between GPs wanting to provide more services in their surgeries and Barnsley Council’s traditional backing for BHNFT (very understandably) to try to keep Barnsley Hospital viable. We are clearly heading into difficult times with Barnsley at the forefront of changes that will eventually affect the whole NHS.
UNISONnews
Tel: 01924 316161 unison@swyt.nhs.uk www.swyp-unison.org.uk
‘A fabulous evening with the people who inspired, encouraged and empowered me to consider a life in politics’
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hat was how the MP for Dewsbury Paula Sherriff described speaking at our AGM in March. The meeting was held in Wakefield’s historic Elizabethan Gallery and heard reports from a range of branch officers. Branch Chair Tony Wright opened the meeting and looked back on a challenging year. He also outlined his plans in the new roles of Education Officer and Labour Link Officer that he was taking up. Vice Chair Chris Strother had done a good deal of casework and as LGBTI Officer noted we had held a stall at Wakefield Pride. Joint Branch Secretary David Pickersgill presented a ‘state of the branch’ report noting we had 2746 members, a drop of 17 since our last AGM, but still well up on 2602 in May 2013 when the last group of members transferring in as part of NHS structuring had arrived. Our largest employer is SWYPFT where we have 2010 members, with 135 working for Choice Support, 52 for Spectrum CiC and 40 between the Barnsley and Wakefield CCGs. 280 of our members are retired, and they have an active local group. As a Branch we’d been represented at all relevant UNISON conferences and regional meetings, including at the Regional Health Committee where he is Chair. As well as thanks to activists and staff he thanked SWYPFT for the support they provide to the branch with facility time and office space. David noted the last two years have been the most difficult he’d experienced in 20+ years as a union activist in the nature of what we have been facing – ‘hostile’ TUPEs and redundancies of significant numbers of members. He was also fearful of what the next two years will bring - the vote to leave the EU being taken forward as ‘hard Brexit’ making the NHS less attractive to overseas workers, making staffing shortages worse, while the hard right Tories leading the Government want greater employment ‘flexibility’ by attacking workers’ rights and will continue to starve our public services of proper funding. He stressed our need for our unions has never been greater. Fellow Joint Branch Secretary Elaine
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Shelton shared the view about how difficult the last two years had been and about the challenges ahead. We have been seeing a pace and scale of changes we have not seen before. She is stepping back from some positions such as the National Women’s Committee and now working 50% of her (Left to right) David Pickersgill, Eunice Hemingway, time with UNISON and Paula Sherriff MP, Inara Bennett, Lorraine Morgan, 50% as a CPN. Elaine Shelton. Thanks to Tony Wright for the photography Women’s Officer Lorraine Morgan reported on the growth had mainly been on the election campaign, of the WASPI (Women Against State Pension and she recalled being in her hotel room Inequality) campaign while Young Members after her first day in Parliament thinking Officer Kuleana Rowan did a written report ‘what have I done?’ – she’s now the Communications Officer for She commented on the loss of her the National Young Members Forum. friend and neighbouring MP Jo Cox and the The accounts from Treasurer Evelyn threats and abuse she gets several times Beckley were accepted. The have been each day being a woman in the public eye. audited by Head Office. Although we She noted the assumptions of many MPs spent more than we get as a share of (including some within Labour) about her members’ subs in the last 12 months this as someone who had come from a normal was planned – under union rules we are job in the NHS rather than being a policy penalised for having significant reserves advisor, but she had managed to be the first and if we can get these down in sensible back bench MP in Parliamentary history to ways we could qualify for substantial amend a Finance Bill (Budget) to reduce the extra income to offer even better support rate of VAT on sanitary products. to members. Regional Organiser Natalie As an MP she is trying to make Ratcliffe noted the branch is active and well parliament relevant to people’s lives, run. raising issues like women’s health, though New Officer and Steward positions women remain under-represented – 45% were confirmed (see the back of the of Labour MPs are women, but only 20% newsletter for these). of Tories. She also took questions, noting Guest speaker Paula Sherriff MP said seven current cases in her office were the she was delighted to be ‘back where it same as the situation presented in the film all began’ for her as a UNISON Steward ‘I, Daniel Blake’ which some out of touch at Wakefield PCT in 2009, with people in Tories had dismissed as fiction. the branch helping her realise she had She was warmly thanked for her the talent to become first a Councillor, contribution and presented with flowers. then a candidate and now the Labour There were also presented to former Joint MP for Dewsbury and Shadow Women’s Branch Secretary & Caseworker Eunice Minister. She particularly thanked Eunice Hemingway and former Treasurer Inara Hemingway, David Pickersgill, Lorraine Bennett. The next Branch AGM will be Morgan, Inara Bennett and Elaine Shelton. held in March 2018 and all members Her focus for 18 months up to May 2015 are encouraged to attend.
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Are you the person we need for one of our vacant Branch Officer positions? We elected most of our Branch Officers at the AGM but some positions are still vacant. Training is provided for all these positions, travelling expenses are paid and many of the duties would qualify for time released from work. If you are interested please feel free to have a no obligation discussion with either Branch Chair Tony Wright or Joint Branch Secretary David Pickersgill. Nomination forms are available through the Branch Office. The positions are: • The Welfare Officer who helps members access financial and other support from the union’s There For You charity arm. • The Health and Safety Officer coordinates our work on Health & Safety with support from other Safety Reps.
• The Equalities Officer oversees all our equalities work for BAME, LGBTI, disabled, younger and women members. • The Life Long Learning Coordinator supports members to access the wide variety of education and training available through the union. • The International Officer helps us support trade union colleagues overseas.
Huddersfield March for the NHS – Saturday 29th April
#ourNHS
The fight to save ation ures | no privatis Huddersfield Royal no cuts | no clos Infirmary continues. It’s not about Huddersfield vs Halifax but about viable and accessible services for both communities. There is a Huddersfield TUC March for the NHS on Saturday 29th April starting at 10.30am at St George’s Square (that’s outside the train station if you don’t know Huddersfield well).
The closing date for all these positions is 9am on Tuesday 2nd May. Nomination forms are available from the Branch Office (01924 316161 or unison@swyt. nhs.uk) or from the Branch website. We are also keen to recruit new UNISON stewards across all employers and workplaces.
Doncaster Races – Saturday 5th August
Barnsley May Day Festival of Solidarity 29th & 30th April 2017
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We are supporting the Regional UNISON Day at Doncaster races again this year – the event is on Saturday 5th August and discounted tickets are available from the Branch Office: • • •
£5 each for members and for their first guest, £6.50 for any additional guests. Under 16s go free.
Please ring 01924 316161 or email unison@swyt.nhs.uk for a booking form (Please note that because the Branch covers such a big area we are putting an extra subsidy onto the tickets rather than providing transport through the Branch).
www.swyp-unison.co.uk
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South West Yorkshire Partnership Health Branch Contacting UNISON – April 2017
South West Yorkshire Partnership Health
JOINT BRANCH SECRETARIES David Pickersgill
Lead for Negotiations and Admin / Joint Communications Officer Lead for Casework and Steward Support
Branch Office
01924 316161
Branch Office
01924 316161
Chris Strother
Branch Chair/ Education Co-ordinator / Labour Link Officer Vice Chair/ LGBTI Officer
Mount Vernon Hospital Barnsley Horizon Centre Fieldhead
01226 644529 07789 925849 07970 101947
Evelyn Beckley
Treasurer
Patients’ Bank, Fieldhead
01924 316396
Lorraine Morgan Kuleana Rowan
Women’s Officer Young Members’ Officer / Joint Communications Officer
Branch Office, Fieldhead Branch Office, Fieldhead
01924 316161 01924 316161
Steve Clarke Faye Cusworth Ischelle Elliker Shain Haroon Victoria Kennedy
Steward Steward Steward BAOT Rep/Steward Steward
07747 795668 07702 771471 01226 644793 01484 434646 01422 262373
Neil Lomas Emily Macklesworth
Steward Steward
Anne Magee Linda McGrath Daniel Moran Catherine Musegedi Phil Stewart Joy Thomas Lynn Wilby Lorna Wood Julia Wright Ken Wright
Steward Steward Steward BAOT Rep/Steward Steward Steward Steward Steward Steward Steward
Porter, Kendray Bretton Centre, Fieldhead Older Adults, Kendray Hospital Floor 2, Folly Hall Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale, Laura Mitchell Health Centre The Dales Calderdale Royal Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital Laura Mitchell Health Centre Baghill House, Pontefract MHAT Cudworth Rapid Access Drury Lane H/C Psychological Therapies, Ossett H/C Yorkshire Smokefree Kirklees, Folly Hall A&E Liaison HRI Reception Kendray Hospital Ward 1, Mount Vernon, Barnsley Kendray Hospital
Elaine Shelton
BRANCH OFFICERS Tony Wright
STEWARDS IN SWYPFT
01422 222908 01484 355521 01422 224624 01422 262358 07785 353114 07807 905888 01924 316959 01924 327808 01484 434675 01484 355521 01226 644023 01226 644552 07564 830872
STEWARDS IN CHOICE Yvonne Cade
Steward
Wakefield Office UNISON Office, Fieldhead, Ouchthorpe Lane Wakefield WF1 3SP Tel: 01924 316161 Email: UNISON@swyt.nhs.uk Joint Branch Secretaries: David Pickersgill Elaine Shelton Branch Admin Manager: Lorraine Morgan Admin Assistant: Kuleana Rowan
SWYP UNISON
Clarke Hall, Wakefield
Barnsley Office We also have a local office at Mount Vernon Hospital in Barnsley: Union Room Mount Vernon Hospital Mount Vernon Road Barnsley S70 4DP. Tel. 01226 644529 Tony Wright Branch Chair/ Education Co-ordinator/ Labour Link Officer works from the Barnsley office.
07805 930022
UNISON Regional Organiser Natalie Ratcliffe is based at the UNISON Regional Office in Leeds (Tel. 0800 0857 857) though issues should come through the branch first. We also have an active retired members group who meet regularly. Their Secretary is Manny Shaduwa (01924 374588).